Tag Archives: atrocity

Music, Reviews

“Werk 80 II” by Atrocity

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Artist: Atrocity
Title: “Werk 80 II”
Label: Napalm Records
Release Date: 3/8/2008
Genre: Death Wave
Rating: 3/5

Cover albums! Again with the cover albums is the first thought that crossed my mind, yet before I delve into this one let me clue you in on a little secret. Even though I like to consider myself as tried and true to the Metal cause as possible, it was during the early eighties that I also enjoyed quite a bit of what was going on with some of the New Wave bands of the time. Such was the case of being a viewer of early MTV where the Hard Rock, Metal and New Wave all shared the same broadcast times. This music was all the rage during that MTV hoopla time and the vinyl still exists in the basement of my family home to prove it. So based on this I found listening to “Werk 80 II” by Atrocity a little more interesting for me but don’t get me wrong here because I never sat back and wondered how a Billy Idol or Duran Duran track would sound if an Extreme Death Metal band had tried their hand at it. With all this being said welcome to “Werk 80 II” – the spawn of the bands first exploration into this idea of classic New Wave, Dance Hall and Pop classics given the Heavy Gothic once over. These types of releases are becoming a little bit too common nowadays and there are those who are viewing the idea as the death knell in the artist’s creative process while others maintain it’s the band simply saying “I loved these songs and always wanted to perform them for my fans”. With this release I feel that perhaps we are seeing a little bit of both because while its cool to want to deliver popular songs that you recall from your past this is not the best way to increase one’s fan base when you are most known for delivering crushing Extreme Metal with Symphonic overtones.
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Music, Reviews

“Todessehnsucht” (remaster) by Atrocity

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Artist: Atrocity
Title: “Todessehnsucht” (remaster)
Label: Metal Mind Productions
Release Date: 3/18/2008
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Rating: 4/5

The sophomore release by Germany’s Atrocity originally came to the world via the mighty Roadrunner Records way back in 1992 and thanks to the folks at Metal Mind Productions strikes hard once again in a remastered reissue. With “Todessehnsucht” the band had found their strength and focus in delivering a unique brand of Death Metal that also gave the fans a rather epic nature with a definite technical and melodic edge. The influences of the Florida Death Metal scene are very apparent as airs of Obituary are heard and even the basics of Morbid Angel are felt throughout the recording on songs like “Unspoken Names”, a tune that sweeps the listener in many different directions. “Defiance” is a little more traditional with a trudging riff and quick growling vocals over them that could have easily been from a US based group as opposed to a European export. For it’s time I would have to say that it was a lot more progressive than we were finding in the genre outside of a few of its early innovators. The band took some time in crafting the music on “Longing For Death”, it’s literal translation, and present a very interesting ride instead of coming off boring or repetitive.
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Features, PiercingMetal Says

PiercingMetal’s “Best Of” 2005: Music – Video – Concerts

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Having only launched PiercingMetal.com in April, this list is not a super long one. However, it does feature some of the releases that we found most favorable along with the shows that we enjoyed the most. Maybe you agree with us on some so please take a look.

Logo - The Best Of

The Best CD’s of 2005:
Mercenary “11 Dreams” (Century Media Records): One of the finest mixes of Metal genre to come out of Century Media records this year

Soilwork “Stabbing The Drama” (Nuclear Blast Records): This CD made a fan out of me, and is likely to do the same for you.

H.I.M. “Dark Light” (Sire Records): First official US Release and mixes elements of their previous work to a fine blend. Try this melodic gothic act out and you will not regret it.

Judas Priest “Angel Of Retribution” (Epic Records): Reunion, simple as that, they show why they are Metal Gods to this very day.

Iron Maiden “Death On the Road” (Columbia Records): The 40th live album from Iron Maiden shows up their last try and is quite enjoyable.

Korpiklaani “Voice of Wilderness” (Napalm Records): Ever hear Folk Metal? You will be a changed person when you do.

Leaves Eyes “Vinland Saga” (Napalm Records): Atmospheric Gothic Metal and this CD take you to another world.

Journey “Generations” (Independent): Anyone who stopped supporting Journey because of Steve Perry leaving is an idiot because Steve Augeri rocks. This is one of the best Rock records of the year.
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Events, Reviews

Leaves Eyes @ C.B.G.B. (10/4/2005)

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Logo - Leaves Eyes

Artist: Leave’s Eyes, Atrocity, God Dethroned
Venue: C.B.G.B. (New York, NY)
Opener: Hell Within, Mantiss, Lilitu
Date: 10/4/2005
Label: Napalm Records

With an event called the “International Extreme Music Festival” and the venue of choice to be the recently newsworthy CBGB’s I knew that this was to be one of those interesting nights. The tour looked to be a nice lineup of some very heavy groups and I think it originally started with about 9 acts before the show hit NYC. Among the listed on ads the following performers were run down as follows: God Dethroned, Byzantine, Nightrage, Hell Within, Epoch Of Unlight, Thine Eyes Bleed, Lilitu, Atrocity and Leaves Eyes. My plan was primarily to cover the Leaves Eyes and Atrocity set as I had just reviewed “The Vinland Saga” CD on the site and found it to be an incredible piece of music. I also enjoyed some of God Dethroned material and Nightrage was a band a colleague has been talking up. There was an early start time based on the number of bands set to perform and this did not bother me in the least. I had to attend to something’s the following day and that would prevent the all-nighter coverage this evening. By the time the show hit NYC Nightrage had pulled off due to unconfirmed reasons and Thine Eyes Bleed and Byzantine were no longer listed. Instead we would find Mantiss added and the roster set at 6 bands. God Dethroned would be holding the headlining spot. I was not sure whether or not this was a good idea as while they are popular I felt that Leaves Eyes would be the biggest draw tonight. I also felt that legendary or not, that CBGB was a poor choice of venue, it would be too cramped if this sold out and cause a lot of people to be turned away. This would not be an issue tonight as sadly poor promotion left the draw at an extreme minimum. Arriving on time to do an interview with Leaves Eyes I found them over an hour away stuck in traffic according to the Tour Manager. When I spoke to several girls who were diehard Liv Krull fans they expressed concern as appearances earlier had been cancelled. It was nice to be able to inform them that while they were late; they were in fact on the way.
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